Table 1 Characteristics of studies included in the meta-analysis
Author, year [reference] | Design | Country | Total no. of patients | Mean age, years | Male sex (%) | Location | Overall mortality rate (%) | qSOFA score recorded | Measured mortality | Participant selection | Primary study aim |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
April et al., 2017 [18] | Retrospective, single-center, cohort study | USA | 214 | 68 | 59 | ED | 18.2 | Worst values during ED stay | In-hospital mortality | Suspected infection, admitted to ICU | Comparison of prognostic accuracy of qSOFA and SIRS for predicting in-hospital mortality |
Askim et al., 2017 [19] | Prospective, single-center, observational study | Norway | 1535 | 62 | 53 | ED | 4.4 | ED arrival | 7- and 30-day mortality | Suspected infection | Clinical usefulness of qSOFA to predict severe sepsis and 7- and 30-day mortality |
Chen et al., 2016 [20] | Retrospective, single-center, observational study | China | 1631 | 73 | 59 | ED | 33 | ED arrival | 28-day mortality | Community-acquired pneumonia | Comparison of prognostic performance of qSOFA, CRB-65, and CRB |
Churpek et al., 2017 [21] | Retrospective, single-center, observational study | USA | 30,677 | 58 | 47 | ED, ward | 5.4 | At time of initial suspicion of infection | In-hospital mortality | Suspected infection | Comparison of qSOFA with other commonly used early warning scores for in-hospital mortality |
Donnelly et al., 2017 [22] | Retrospective, multicenter, cohort study | USA | 2593 | 67 | 40 | NA | 11.3 | Worst values within 28 h of hospital admission | 28-day and 1-year mortality | Suspected infection | Incidence and long-term outcomes of patients diagnosed with sepsis and septic shock |
Dorsett et al., 2017 [23] | Retrospective, single-center, observational study | USA | 152 | NA | NA | ED | NA | Prehospital, upon ED arrival, and during ED stay | NA | Suspected infection | Prehospital qSOFA score in early identification of patients with severe sepsis or septic shock |
Finkelsztein et al., 2017 [24] | Prospective, single-center, cohort study | USA | 151 | 64 | 55 | ED, ward | 19 | Within 8 h before ICU admission | In-hospital mortality | Suspected infection, admitted to medical ICU | Comparison of discriminatory capacity of qSOFA vs. SIRS criteria for predicting in-hospital mortality and ICU-free days |
Forward et al., 2017 [25] | Retrospective, single-center, observational study | Australia | 162 | NA | NA | Non-ICU | 15.5 | Within 24 h of deterioration | In-hospital mortality | Suspected infection | Comparison of prognostic performance of qSOFA, SIRS, and SK criteria |
Freund et al., 2017 [26] | Prospective, multicenter, cohort study | Europe | 879 | 67 | 53 | ED | 8.4 | Worst values during ED stay | In-hospital mortality | Suspected infection | Validation of qSOFA as mortality predictor comparing SIRS with SOFA |
Giamarellos-Bourboulis et al., 2017 [27] | Retrospective, multicenter, cohort study | Greece | 3436 | NA | NA | ED, ward | 25.2 | Initial values measured during admission to ED | In-hospital mortality | Suspected or confirmed infection | Sensitivity of qSOFA for early assessment of mortality and organ dysfunction |
Henning et al., 2017 [28] | Post hoc analysis | USA | 7637 | 58 | 50 | ED | 14.2 | Worst values during ED stay | In-hospital mortality | Suspected infection | Performance of qSOFA predicting in-hospital mortality |
Huson et al., 2017 [29] | Retrospective, single-center, observational study | Gabon | 329 | 34 | 38 | Non-ICU | 4.5 | At time of initial suspicion of infection | In-hospital mortality | Suspected infection | Predictive value of qSOFA score for mortality |
Hwang et al., 2017 [30] | Retrospective, single-center, cohort study | South Korea | 1395 | 65 | 56 | ED | 15 | ED arrival and within 3, 6, and 24 h | In-hospital and 28-day mortality | Severe sepsis or septic shock | Diagnostic performance of positive qSOFA score for predicting 28-day mortality among critically ill patients with sepsis |
Kim et al., 2017 [31] | Retrospective, single-center, observational study | South Korea | 615 | 54 | 33 | Non-ICU | 3.2 | At time of initial suspicion of infection | 28-day mortality | Neutropenic fever | Predictive performance of qSOFA as screening tool for sepsis, mortality, and ICU admission |
Kolditz et al., 2017 [32] | Retrospective, multicenter, observational study | Germany | 9327 | 64 | 56 | Non-ICU | 3.0 | At time of initial suspicion of infection | 30-day mortality | Community-acquired pneumonia | Comparison of qSOFA and CRB-65 for risk prediction |
Mellhammar et al., 2017 [33] | Retrospective population-based study | Sweden | 339 | NA | NA | Non-ICU | NA | Within ± 12 h from initiation of antibiotic therapy | NA | Suspected infection | Incidence of sepsis with organ dysfunction |
Park et al., 2017 [34] | Retrospective, single-center, observational study | South Korea | 1009 | 67 | 45 | ED | 15.8 | ED arrival | In-hospital mortality | Suspected infection | Comparison of performance of qSOFA and SIRS to predict development of organ failure |
Peake et al., 2017 [35] | Post hoc analysis | Australia | 1591 | 63 | 60 | ED | 18.7 | Worst values during ED stay | 90-day mortality | Early septic shock | Exploration of utility and potential effects of new Sepsis-3 definitions |
Quinten et al., 2017 [36] | Prospective, single-center, observational study | The Netherlands | 193 | 60 | 56 | ED | 4.1 | Initial values measured during admission to ED | In-hospital, 28-day, and 6-month mortality | Suspected or confirmed infection | Comparison of predictive performance of qSOFA, CIS, and PIRO score for ICU admission |
Ranzani et al., 2017 [37] | Retrospective, two-center, cohort study | Spain | 6874 | 66 | 62 | ED | 6.4 | ED arrival | In-hospital mortality | Community-acquired pneumonia | Comparison of predictive performance of SIRS, qSOFA, CRB, mSOFA, and CURB-65 for in-hospital mortality |
Seymour et al., 2016 [6] | Retrospective, multicenter, cohort study (in the UPMC validation cohort) | USA | 66,522 | 61 | 43 | ED, ward | 2.8 | At time of initial suspicion of infection | In-hospital mortality | Suspected infection | Comparison of performance of qSOFA, SIRS, SOFA, and MODS score to predict sepsis |
Wang et al., 2016 [38] | Retrospective, single-center, observational study | China | 477 | 73 | 62 | ED | 27.4 | ED arrival | 28-day mortality | Suspected infection | Performance of qSOFA for predicting mortality and ICU admission |
Williams et al., 2017 [39] | Retrospective, single-center, observational study | Australia | 8871 | 49 | 51 | ED | 8.7 | Worst values during ED stay | 30-day and 1-year mortality | Suspected infection | Comparison of diagnostic accuracy of SIRS and qSOFA for organ dysfunction and mortality |